Day 8: August 27, 2011
August 27 (sunny and warm)
Up early and grabbed some cinnamon rolls from the breakfast nook (and a coffee to go) – hailed a taxi and rode to the railroad station to catch the Alaskan Rail Road train to Denali – saw some cool HO model train setups at the station – recreating the train ride to Denali
Boarded the “C” car and settled in for the trip south – took advantage of the shared observation car to catch some awesome views of the scenery – was rewarded with a clear view of Denali Mountain – the sun was shining brightly off the snow – could see the entire mountain – it is said that only 30% of the visitors to Denali ever see the top of the mountain – we saw it a number of times on the ride
Rode through the town of Nenana and saw the tripod used for the Ice Classic
Headed through the Nenana River Canyon and saw the Usibelli Coal Mine tipple in Healy, AK
Stopped at the Denali Park Station and were met by representatives from Denali Bluffs Hotel – our home for the evening – we rode to the hotel, checked in and waited for the bus to take us on a tour of the park
Boarded bus for the Tundra Wilderness Tour – a 8 hour ride into the park to view wildlife and get close to the mountain – our guide did a great job of pointing out animals – especially the “Big 4” – sheep, caribou, moose and bear – saw lots of other animals, too – along with an awesome close-up of the top of Denali
Ate a box lunch on the bus for lunch/supper
Arrived at the hotel to spend the night – awoke at 1:00 AM to see the Northern Lights – just caught a small glimpse of them.
Up early and grabbed some cinnamon rolls from the breakfast nook (and a coffee to go) – hailed a taxi and rode to the railroad station to catch the Alaskan Rail Road train to Denali – saw some cool HO model train setups at the station – recreating the train ride to Denali
Boarded the “C” car and settled in for the trip south – took advantage of the shared observation car to catch some awesome views of the scenery – was rewarded with a clear view of Denali Mountain – the sun was shining brightly off the snow – could see the entire mountain – it is said that only 30% of the visitors to Denali ever see the top of the mountain – we saw it a number of times on the ride
Rode through the town of Nenana and saw the tripod used for the Ice Classic
Headed through the Nenana River Canyon and saw the Usibelli Coal Mine tipple in Healy, AK
Stopped at the Denali Park Station and were met by representatives from Denali Bluffs Hotel – our home for the evening – we rode to the hotel, checked in and waited for the bus to take us on a tour of the park
Boarded bus for the Tundra Wilderness Tour – a 8 hour ride into the park to view wildlife and get close to the mountain – our guide did a great job of pointing out animals – especially the “Big 4” – sheep, caribou, moose and bear – saw lots of other animals, too – along with an awesome close-up of the top of Denali
Ate a box lunch on the bus for lunch/supper
Arrived at the hotel to spend the night – awoke at 1:00 AM to see the Northern Lights – just caught a small glimpse of them.
